The following paper deals with collocation. The topic is investigated with a linguistic view, but also didactic aspects should not be completely disregarded, because collocation is a very important topic especially for teachers. They have to know which word goes together with which term and how to explain these relationships to their pupils. The collocational aspect will have its meaning explained. Then a description of how collocations are used will follow. The third part of this paper presents Benson’s understanding of collocation. He distinguishes between the collocations of different word classes. The first section is about lexical collocations, which contains collocations consisting of nouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives. Then the most common lexical combinations will have their meaning explained. The first given type of collocation consists of verbs and nouns; the second one deals with the collocations of adjectives and nouns and the third section examines collocations of verbs and adverbs, while the last combination consists of adverbs and adjectives. These combinations are the most common lexical collocations, so others should be disregarded. The different kinds of collocations are examined concerning their behaviour in a sentence and the possibility they suggest to be substituted. After this examination the paper summarizes the structure of grammatical collocation. In the next part, Cowie’s understanding of collocation is presented. He distinguishes between restricted and open collocations, which will be explained in this section. The next part of the paper contains some aspects one has to take account of when collocations are translated. Concerning translatability there are three different types of collocations: collocations of complete, partial and of no equivalence. These types are presented and examples are given. Finally, a few suggestions are given on how to teach collocation in school. Therefore, some different suggestions for teaching are given to make allowances for the student’s age and advancement. The paper ends with a short summary and a final reflection.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Collocation
2.1 Meaning of Collocation
2.2 Use of Collocation
3 Benson’s Understanding of Collocation
3.1 Lexical Collocations
3.1.1 Definition of Lexical Collocations
3.1.2 Collocations between Verbs and Nouns
3.1.3 Collocations between Adjectives and Nouns
3.1.4 Collocations between Verbs and Adverbs
3.1.5 Collocations between Adverbs and Adjectives
3.2 Grammatical Collocations
4 Cowie’s Understanding of Collocation
5 Translatability of Collocations
5.1 Complete Equivalence
5.2 Partial Equivalence
5.3 No Equivalence
6 Teaching of Collocation
7 Conclusion
Objectives and Research Focus
This paper examines the linguistic and didactic dimensions of collocations, aiming to clarify how they function, how they are structured according to major theoretical frameworks, and how they should be taught to second language learners to avoid translation errors.
- The linguistic definition and co-occurrence patterns of lexical items.
- Benson’s classification of lexical and grammatical collocations.
- Cowie’s perspective on open and restricted collocations.
- The challenges of translating collocations across different languages.
- Methodological approaches for teaching collocations in a school setting.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1.2 Collocations between Verbs and Nouns
Collocations between verbs and nouns are often fixed expressions. That means the synonymy of both collocates is restricted. The verb in the combination to commit murder can be substituted with the verb to perpetrate, but the new combination seems to be the only combination which is possible and is not used frequently. Another example shows that the synonymy of nouns is also restricted. “One can say hold a funeral, but not *hold a burial.”
In this example the two collocates are separated by a determiner; the span can be enlarged even more with a description of the funeral, etc.. Even if this is the case, the restrictions of the expected collocate do not change. Hence, the collocates of a verb – noun collocation can occur within a relatively large span.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Provides an overview of the paper's scope, including the linguistic analysis of collocations and their importance for pedagogical practice.
2 Collocation: Defines the core concept of collocation as the habitual co-occurrence of lexical items and discusses how language users create and use these combinations.
3 Benson’s Understanding of Collocation: Details the structural classification of collocations into lexical and grammatical types, providing examples for various syntactic patterns.
4 Cowie’s Understanding of Collocation: Explores an alternative classification system that distinguishes between open and restricted collocations based on the combinability of their constituents.
5 Translatability of Collocations: Analyzes the difficulties in translating fixed expressions and categorizes them into complete, partial, and no equivalence.
6 Teaching of Collocation: Offers practical strategies for educators to teach collocations effectively, emphasizing context and avoiding literal translation.
7 Conclusion: Synthesizes the main findings regarding the structure, classification, and pedagogical necessity of understanding collocations in second language acquisition.
Keywords
Collocation, Linguistic, Lexical Collocations, Grammatical Collocations, Benson, Cowie, Translatability, Equivalence, Teaching, Second Language Acquisition, Syntax, Word Classes, Node, Collocates, Didactics
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental subject of this paper?
The paper focuses on the linguistic phenomenon of collocation—the tendency of words to occur together in predictable patterns—and explores its significance in both translation and language teaching.
What are the central thematic fields covered?
The main themes include the theoretical classification of collocations, their syntactic structure, the challenges they present in translation due to language-specific variations, and methods for instruction.
What is the primary research objective?
The aim is to investigate how collocations behave linguistically and to provide teachers with a clearer understanding of how to address these structures in a classroom to improve student proficiency.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The study relies on a literature-based theoretical analysis, comparing the classification frameworks established by prominent linguists such as Benson and Cowie.
What is covered in the main section of the paper?
The main part analyzes specific types of collocations (lexical vs. grammatical), their internal constraints (such as "span"), and how these components interact in various syntactic configurations.
Which keywords define this work?
Key terms include Collocation, Lexical/Grammatical Collocations, Translatability, Equivalence, and Second Language Acquisition.
How do "nodes" and "collocates" interact?
The "node" is the central word being examined, while the "collocates" are the surrounding words that occur in close proximity to the node, forming the collocation.
Why is direct translation often problematic for collocations?
Collocations are language-specific; translating them word-for-word often leads to unnatural expressions because the "mutual expectation" of words differs across languages.
What is the difference between open and restricted collocations?
Open collocations are free combinations of words that retain their literal meaning, whereas restricted collocations involve one element that has a specialized or limited meaning in that context.
- Quote paper
- Yvonne Müller (Author), 2008, Collocation - A linguistic view and didactic aspects, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/88276
